Have Clothes You Don’t Use? Create A Fresh Wardrobe With These 10 DIY Tips To Recycle

Posted: October 5, 2018

Have some unusable clothes in your wardrobe? Why not use these tips to recycle old clothes and create a brand new set of clothes for yourself?

I have been on a career break since a year, and have found so many creative things which could be done at home… all you need is a creative mind, and importantly, an eagerness to create something new out of the old/unused.

That day while I was cleaning my wardrobe, I felt like giving away those clothes. They were all those which I used to wear at office; after office I generally liked to be in my t-shirts and pyjamas at home. Now since I was at home most of the time and doing small projects, I wanted to have comfortable clothes and at the same time wanted to be presentable, so that I don’t get into that loop of a comfort zone that can pull me back from stepping out into the working world, whenever I wished to.

I had so many clothes, and I wondered why the hell had I thrown so much money on these clothes when I had decided to have a career break soon. I now needed purchase loose clothes, and would have had to give away all these ‘not so used’ ones. And suddenly the thought popped up in my mind: what if I can recycle old clothes?

Now this would be a very interesting project, and believe me, I ensured that none of my hard earned money got wasted.
Let me tell you what I did with my clothes.

Palazzos from long skirts

I had long ethnic skirts. I had purchased them some 10-12 years back, but I am sure I wore them just 2 or 3 times each. I got them cut from between and transformed into ethnic palazzos. They look amazing with T-shirts or kurtis, and I use them the way I use pyjamas. The difference is that they look presentable, and I can go out in them as well.

Kurtas to more versatile kurtis

I had so many long kurtas which I used to wear to office. They were not getting used now, because I dreaded wearing salwars or churidars. I cut them short and transformed them into short kurtis. I maintained the work done on the necks and arms, but the length was shortened to be worn with my jeans or the palazzos which I got out of my skirts!

Stoles from dupattas

Now since my kurtas were no more kurtas, my dupattas were getting wasted. I cut them into halves along their length and shortened them a bit, transforming them into ethnic stoles and some scarves. I now wear all those stoles with my kurtis, t-shirts, and a few are even are getting used as mufflers in winters specially those which were of thick material. They all look so graceful. Stoles too are very expensive int boutiques or online, but here I am with my home made stylish stoles and scarves!

Dupattas into kurtis

A few dupattas which were made of fabric like chiffon, georgette, etc. were converted into kurtis or small tops with a lining inside or spaghetti tops. They look amazing, specially in summers. Worn with those stoles they make a style statement.

Shrugs from long kurtas

Then there were few long kurtas which if shortened would lose their grace. So I decided to transform them into long shrugs. They are now being used over spaghetti tops and my pyjamas. They look classy and nobody knows they were once long kurtas worn with a salwar or churidar.

Salwar suits from saris

Some of my Mom’s saris which she had decided to give away, were taken by me to transform them into beautiful salwar suits and kurtas. Believe me, I have worn a few of these at weddings and other functions, and people have asked me where I had got them from.

A tote bag from an ethnic short skirt

One of my short skirts which is from Gujarat has a lot of ethnic work on it, and I have never actually worn it because at some point I began to feel that it was looking very gaudy. It is soon getting transformed into a stylish thaila or jhola or a bag which will look amazing with my kurties, palazzos and a stylish stole. What say?

My wardrobe has got a total makeover into comfortable, yet presentable and stylish clothes in it. Complete value for money!

I am still in the process of understanding what best can be done with my churidars, and with the left out cloth pieces after cutting them short to create various pieces. I am sure they too won’t get wasted and would get a new life soon. This makes me feel really happy and satisfied.

Try this once with your old clothes, and you will feel the pleasure of your new discoveries. After all your hard earned money is involved.

Image source: YouTube

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